A Texas City’s Named One of the Most High-Tech Cities in the World, But it’s Not the City You Think: The True Tomorrowland’s a Surprise

If Dallasites didn’t have enough reasons to boast about their city, Business Insider just gave them another huge bragging right.

The prominent business site ranks Dallas-Fort Worth as one of the most high-tech cities in the world – and it’s the only Texas spot to make the cut. Take that, Austin!

Business Insider consulted with research firm 2thinknow to determine the 85 most technologically advanced cities in the world. Dallas-Fort Worth came in at number 11, beating out Beijing, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo among others.

These rankings weigh factors such as the number of startups, tech venture capitalists, a city’s ranking in other innovation datasets, and the level of smartphone use.

Dallas made a huge leap from 2016, when it came in ranked number 28. “Just within the last couple years, Dallas has established itself as a startup hub,” Business Insider notes in making the case for Texas’ new tech giant.

You can thank the explosive tech scene for pushing North Texas into the future. The metroplex’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has experienced serious growth in the last year, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Just this week, Dallas Entrepreneurial Center announced a partnership with Austin-based accelerator company Capital Factory that will make North Texas an even better place for startups and entrepreneurs. Perhaps Dallas Mavericks billionaire owner and tech lover Mark Cuban was right all along when he urged young business people to move to the Big D.

Dallas Tech in Action

Business Insider also gives Dallas props for integrating technology into the city landscape. This spring, the Dallas Innovation Alliance began rolling out smart-city solutions in the West End of Dallas, including smart streetlights and an interactive kiosk with information about DART, voting, and city programming. Dallas County Schools also pushed forward this year, incorporating new technology in classrooms across the city.

Dallas is still behind a few other American cities in tech, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, and San Francisco (which topped the list). However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Dallas continued to climb the rankings in coming years.

After all, Dallas is one of few U.S. cities in consideration for Elon Musk’s ultra-futuristic Hyperloop, a train-like system that would reach speeds of 700 MPH. It’s unlikely that Hyperloop will actually take off in Dallas anytime soon, but no worries — there’s another high-speed train in the works.

Not to mention, Uber is set on bringing electric, flying cars to Dallas by the year 2020. Yes, Dallas is the city of tomorrow – and it’s already leading the pack in the Lone Star State.